Auxiliary keyboard and operating mechanism for typesetting, typecasting, message transmission, tape perforating, and similar machines



H. E. R-IAPPEL ET AL March 27, 1956 D AND OPERATING MECHANISM FORTYPESETTING, TYPECASTING, MESSAGE AUXILIARY KEYBOA TRANSMISSION, TAPEPERFORA'IING AND SIMILAR MACHINES Filed March 25, 1954 m w m l L .1 a: m5 m P m n2 5 p v R 0 0M u o M 2 v P R u w I w M p A L m 2 J m mm $8 H QQE N a N 0 o\\ m; u c Q2 Q5 T m m N M %Q\ Qm x R A W Q8 G1 mow M m3 E83MB? .5562: e3 1. .2 2 E H 33 L F. HFw rlux Akin my II Y *2 E B Q? o N?x a A No N I on (1 a I 3 3 H r u All. Shims filr .P E. F 3 a: N m .m amoh I ll H73 ll' a .J 3 N0 mm United States Patent AUXILIARY KEYBOARD ANDOPERATING MECH- ANISM FOR TYPESETTING, TYPECASTING, MESSAGETRANSMISSION, TAPE PERFORAT- ING, AND SIMILAR MACHINES Herman E. Happel,Marion J. Arvin, and Francis J. Murphy, Indianapolis, Ind., assignors toUnitypo, Inc., Indianapolis, Ind., a corporation of New York ApplicationMarch 25, 1954, Serial No. 418,534 8 Claims. (Cl. 164-413) The inventiondisclosed in this application is an improvement on those described andclaimed in United States Letters Patent No. 2,679,902, for AuxiliaryKeyboard and Operating Mechanism for Typesetting, Typecasting, MessageTransmission, Tape Perforating and Similar Machines and for SimilarPurposes, and Serial No. 397,737, filed December 11, 1953, for AuxiliaryOperating Mechanism for Typesetting, Typecasting and Similar Machines.

The inventions of this application and the co-pending applicationsrelate broadly to the operation of typesetting, typecasting and similarmachines and, while the invention is useful in the operation of thekeyboards of all such machines, the invention will be particularlydescribed in this application, as it is in the co-pending applications,in connection with, and as applied to, a machine which perforates tapewhich is used in the operation and control of a machine which sets orcasts type or performs both operations, such as the Linotype, Intertypeand Monotype machines.

Such machines as the Linotype machine are equipped with a specialkeyboard usually having ninety keys, although sometimes a greater andsometimes a smaller number of keys are provided, and these complexmachines must be operated by highly skilled personnel who are able tooperate the special keyboard and perform other duties essential to mostefiicient operation. It has heretofore been proposed to operate suchtypesetting and typecasting machines by means of a perforated tapeprepared on a machine having a keyboard which corresponds to thestandard typewrtier keyboard with the addition of certain keys forperforming operations and producing characters which are necessary inprinting but not in typewriting. Such tape-perforating machines are nowavailable commercially, a typical one being known as the Teletypesetter,and these machines produce a tape which is perforated with holesarranged in a characteristic pattern for each character key. Thekeyboard of such a machine has all of the character keys of theconventional typewriter keyboard, which may be in the same position, andalso has additional keys which are required for printing but are notrequired for typewriting. In addition, the keyboard has a shift key andan unshift key, each of which, when operated, produces a characteristictape perforation which causes the typesetting or casting machineoperated and controlled by the tape to set or cast upper case or lowercase characters corresponding to subsequent tape perforations, dependingon which of the shift and unshift keys has been last operated. Thus, forexample, operation of the A key will always produce the samecharacteristic tape perforation, but the typesetting machine controlledand operated by the tape will set an upper case A or a lower case adepending on whether the shift or unshift key was last operated prior tooperation of the A key.

In the co-pending applications referred to above, there are describedand claimed means, including an auxiliary keyboard having keyspositioned and arranged substantially as in a standard Linotype machinekeyboard, for

association with a tape perforating machine such as the Teletypesetterwhich will, upon operation of the keys of such keyboard, actuate thekeys of the tape perforating machine to perforate the tape in the normalmanner of operation of the tape perforating machine, thus permittingoperation of tape perforating machines such as the Teletypesetter byskilled- Linotype operators who are able to perform the many and variedduties required in composing and printing. In this auxiliary keyboardthere are separate keys for the upper and lower cases of each characterinstead of a single key for both cases as in the tape perforatingmachine. For example, there is an upper case E" key and a separate lowercase e key. In addition, there are separate keys for various characterssuch as punctuation marks, etc., some of which are lower case and someof which are upper case on the tape perforating machine andconsequently, on that machine, require depression of the shift key orthe unshift key before any of these may be operated to produce thedesired character. In addition, there are other keys on the Linotypekeyboard which correspond to keys on the tape perforating machinekeyboard which cause the same character to be set and cast regardless ofwhether the shift key or unshift key has been previously depressed.These are referred to as the no-shift keys of the Linotype keyboard.

In the invention of this and the co-pcnding applications a verticallyarranged solenoid is positioned above each character, shift and unshiftkey of the tape perforating machine with the lower end of its plungersufficiently above the upper surface of the associated key of the tapeperforating machine keyboard to permit the downward movement of theplunger of the solenoid to operate the key below it upon energization ofthe solenoid. The plunger of each solenoid is normally held by a springin a raised position out of engagement with the key below it and uponenergization of the solenoid winding is moved downwardly against theforce of the spring into engagement with the key of the tape perforatingmachine which is below it to depress such key and cause a correspondingand predetermined perforation of the tape. Means are provided in thisand the co-pending applications which are operable upon depression ofany upper case character key of the Linotype keyboard to first cause theshift key of the tape perforating machine to be depressed and thenimmediately released, thus producing the characteristic shift tapeperforation, and then, after a time delay, to cause the correspondingcharacter key of the tape perforating machine keyboard to be depressedto produce its characteristic tape perforation. These means are alsooperable upon depression of any lower case character key of the Linotypekeyboard to first cause the unshift key of the tape perforating machineto be depressed and then immediately released, thus producing thecharacteristic unshif tape perforation, and then, after a time delay, tocause the corresponding character key of the tape perforating machinekeyboard to be depressed to produce its characteristic tape perforation.These means are also operable, upon depression of any no-shift key ofthe Linotype keyboard bearing a character corresponding to a key of thetape perforating machine which produces a tape perforation causingsetting of the same character regardless of whether the shift or unshiftkey has been previously operated, to cause the corresponding key of thetape perforating machine keyboard to be operated.

In this and the co-pending applications there are disclosed and claimedmeans for controlling the circuits of the shift, unshift and'characterkeys of the tape perforating machine keyboard. In a typical sequence ofoperation of these means, assuming that the unshift key was lastoperated, such means are operative to maintain closed the circuit of theoperatingsolenoid of the shift key in order to permit its subsequentoperation, then after depression of an upper case character key of theauxiliary keyboard and the resulting operation of the shift key, to openthe circuits of the operating solenoids of the character keys, then toopenthe circuit of the operating solenoid of the shift key to permitthat key to return to normal position and simultaneously to close thecircuit of the operating solenoid of the unshift key, and lastly toclose the circuits of all of the operating solenoids of the characterkeys to permit 'energization of any of them on further depression of anyupper case key of the auxiliary keyboard. This sequential operationprovides a time delay between operation of the shift key and operationof the character key of the tape perforating machine which is necessaryto permit full and proper operation of the shift key mechanism of thetape perforating machine. Our invention has had for its object, which isachieved by the means described and claimed in this application, toprovide improved, fully electrical means for performing these describedfunctions of the apparatus described and claimed in the co-pendin'gBrewer applications.

The improved means provided by our invention are described in thefollowing specification and illustrated in the drawings forming part ofthis application, in which:

Fig. 1 is a circuit diagram of a preferred embodiment of the invention;

Fig. 2 shows the plunger and associated switch-operating mechanism ofthe shift key solenoid in operating condition, in which the plungerengages the shift key, and

Fig. 3 shows the latching relay of Fig. l in operative, latchingposition.

The improved means according to the present invention for operating thekeyboard of the tape-perforating machine through the medium of thesuperimposed auxiliary keyboard are disclosed in the drawings of thisapplication, in which there is disclosed a section of the auxiliarykeyboard base 2-, beneath which are shown the depending lower arms 4 ofsix of the keys 6, only one of which keys is fully shown in Fig. 1'. Twoof these arms, which are marked with the letters A and D, form part ofthe A and D. keys of the Linotype keyboard of this invention and areboth upper case letters. Two of the arms 4 are respectively marked by acomma and a period and form part of the comma and the period keys of thekeyboard of the tapeperforating machine and, when operated, will producetape perforations which will cause the typesetting machine to set acomma or period regardless of whether the shift or unshift key. has beenpreviously operated. These keys of the auxiliary keyboard are thereforere ferred to as no-shift keys. The two remaining arms 4 shown in Fig. 1form part of the lower case a and d keys of the auxiliary keyboard andare, respec- Itzively, marked with these letters and are lower caseletter eys.

The arms 4 marked A and D in Fig. 1 represent the arms 4 of all of theupper case character keys of the auxiliary keyboard which are operatedwhen it is desired to set an upper case character through the medium ofthe tape perforating machine. The arms 4 marked with a comma and aperiod are representative of all of the arms 4 of all of the keys of theauxiliary keyboard which bear a character corresponding to one ofthekeys of the tape perforating machine keyboard which when operatedproduce a tape perforation causing the same character to be setregardless of whether the shift or unshift key has been previouslyoperated. The arms 4 marked with the lower case letters a and d arerepresentative of all the arms 4 of all the keys of the auxiliarykeyboard which are operated when it is desiredto set and cast a lowercase character through the medium of the tape perforating machine. Allof the keys of the .superimposed'keyboard 2 are operative in the samemanner and through the same circuits as will be now described withreference to the representative keys which are actually illustrated inFig. 1 of the drawings.

Referring first to the A key of the superimposed keyboard 2, the arm 4of which is shown in Fig. 1, it will be seen that this arm is groundedto the machine frame at 7, as are all of the arms 4. Two spaced,insulated, flexible contact members 8, 10 are supported adjacent the Aarm 4 in the direction in which the arm will move when the key isdepressed, whereby the arm, in so moving, will first engage contactmember 8 and then move the same into engagement with the contact member10. Contact member 8 is electrically connected to one terminal of thewinding of solenoid 12 the plunger 13 of which is positioned above andoperates the shift key 14 of the tape perforating machine, the otherterminal of such winding being connected to one fixed contact 16 of alatching relay 18. The second contact 10 is electrically connected tothe winding of solenoid 20 which is positioned above and the plunger ofwhich is operative to depress the A, a key of the tape perforatingmachine, the other terminal of this winding being connected to a contactmember 22 which is associated with and spaced from a second contactmember 24. Contacts 22 and 24 form part of a switch arrangementassociated with the operating solenoid for the unshift key which will befully described hereinafter.

Each upper case letter key of the keyboard 2 has associated with it twocontact members corresponding in position and function to the contactmembers 3, 10 which are associated with the fA letter key, the first ofsuch contact members being connected in every case to the winding ofshift key solenoid 12 and the second being connected to the winding ofthe solenoid which is positioned above and operates the correspondingletter key of the tape perforating machine. Thus, two spaced, flexible,insulated contact members 30, 32 are positioned in the path of movementof arm 4 of the upper case D key and are engaged in the same manner asdescribed above in connection with the A key. Contact member 30 isconnected to one terminal of the winding of shift key operating solenoid12 and the second contact member 32 is connected to one terminal of thewinding of the solenoid 34 which is positioned above and operates the D,(1 letter key of the tape perforating machine, the other terminal beingconnected to the contactmember 22.

Referring now to the lower case letter key a of the keyboard 2, it willbe seen that the arm 4 of this key has associated with it two spaced,flexible, insulated contact members 36, 38 which are arranged in thepath of movement of the arm to be successively engaged as the a key isdepressed. The contact 36, which is nearest the arm 4 of the a key, isconnected to the winding of the solenoid 40 which is positioned aboveand operates the unshift key 42 of the tape perforating machine, theother terminal of the winding being connected to a second fixed contact44 of the latching relay 18. The second contact 38 is connected to thewinding of the solenoid 20 which is positioned above and operates the A,a key of the tape-perforating machine, the other terminal of the windingbeing connected to contact member 22 which has been described before.

Each lower case letter key of the keyboard 2 has associated with it twocontact members corresponding in position and function to the contactmembers 36, 33 which are associated with the lower case a letter key ofsuch keyboard, the first being connected in every case to the winding ofthe unshift key solenoid 4t) and the second being connected to thewinding of the solenoid which operates the corresponding letter key ofthe tape perforating machine. Thus, two spaced, flexible insulatedcontact members 44, 46 are positioned in the path of movement of arm 4of the lower case d key and are engaged in the same manner as thecontact members 36, 38 are engaged by the arm 4 of the a" key. Contactmember 44 is connected to one terminal of the winding of the unshift keyoperating solenoid 40 and the second contact member 46 is connected toone terminal of the winding of the solenoid 34 which is positioned aboveand operates the D, d key of the tape-perforating machine, the otherterminal of the winding being connected to the contact member 22.

Referring now to the comma key of the keyboard 2, it will be seen thatthe arm 4 of this key has associated with it a single contact member 48which is normally spaced from the arm 4 and is positioned to be engagedby it upon operation of the key of which arm 4 forms a part. Contact 48is connected to the winding of solenoid 50 which is positioned above andthe plunger of which operates the comma key of the tape-perforatingmachine, the other terminal of the winding being connected to contactmember 22.

Each no-shift key of the keyboard 2 has associated with it one contactmember corresponding in position and function to the contact member 48which is associated with the comma key, and each such contact member isconnected directly to the solenoid which is positioned above and theplunger of which operates the corresponding key of the tape perforatingmachine. Thus, a contact member 52 is associated with the arm 4 of theperiod key of the keyboard 2 and is normally spaced from it but ispositioned to be engaged by the arm on operation of the period key. Thiscontact member 52 is connected to the winding of solenoid 54 which ispositioned above and the plunger of which operates the period key of thetape-perforating machine, the other terminal of the winding beingconnected to contact 22.

Two pairs of contact members are associated with the plunger of theoperating solenoid of each of the shift and unshift keys and areoperated into and out of engagement on movement of the associatedplunger. These contact members and their positioning and operation willnow be described. The plunger 13 of the shift key operating solenoid hasa lateral projection 60 on the upper end thereof which is positionedbetween upper and lower lateral projections 62, 64 on the upper end of apivoted lever 66 which has a downwardly projecting arm 68 which ispositioned between two sets of spaced contacts 70, 72 and 74, 76. Thespring (not shown) which constantly urges the plunger 13 to itsuppermost position normally maintains the lateral projection 60 on theplunger in engagement with the upper lateral projection 62 on lever 66,thus urging the lever arm 68 into engagement with contact members 70, 72and maintaining these in engagement with each other. Upon energizationof solenoid 12 the plunger 13 is moved downwardly, releasing the lateralprojection 60 from engagement with lateral projection 62 on lever 66.Contact 72 is mounted on a spring arm which normally biases this contactaway from its associated contact 70 and, when the plunger projection 60moves away from lever projection 62, contact 72 immediately moves awayfrom contact 70. At the downward limit of the stroke of plunger 13, atwhich it operates the shift key 14, the projection 60 engages lever part64 and rocks the lever about its pivot, causing the lever arm to movecontact 74 into engagement with contact 76. On de-energization of thesolenoid the plunger returns to its normal, raised position and, as itmoves to this position, the lever arm 68 first releases contact 74,allowing it to move away from contact 76 and, at the limit of upwardmovement of the plunger, the lever arm engages contact 72 and moves itback into engagement with its associated contact 70. The positions ofthe lever 68 and associated contacts in the normal, raised condition ofplunger 13 are shown in Fig. l and their positions when the plunger isin its operating, downward position are shown in Fig. 2.

The plunger 80 of the unshift key operating solenoid has associated withit switch operating means which are exactly the same in construction,arrangement and operation as those described in connection with theshift key. These switch operating means include the lateral projection82 on plunger 80, the upper and lower lateral projections 84, 86 onlever 88 and the downwardly projecting lever arm 90. The plunger isnormally held in its uppermost position by spring means (not shown) andlever arm 90 therefore normally holds contact members 22, 24 in closedposition. A second pair of spaced contact members 92, 94 is positionedto be engaged and moved to closed position by the lever arm 90 at thelimit of downward movement of the plunger. Contacts 22, 24 areseparated, by movement of lever arm 90 away from them, immediately uponany downward movement of the plunger, while contacts 92, 94 are movedinto engagement with each other at the end of the downward stroke of theplunger. The positions of the parts of the shift key solenoid plungerand its associated contacts, as shown in Fig. 2, are typical of thepositions of the plunger of the unshift key solenoid and its associatedcontacts.

As stated hereinbefore, contact 22 of the switch means operated by theunshift key operating solenoid is connected to one terminal of thewinding of each of the operating solenoids for the character keys of thetape perforating machine. Contact 24 is connected by lead to contact 72of the switch means operated by the shift key solenoid. Contacts 70 and76 of the switch means operated by the shift key operating solenoid andcontact 92 of the switch means operated by the unshift key operatingsolenoid are connected to a source of direct current 26 by leads 102 and104. Contact 94, which is associated with contact 92, is connected bylead 106 to one terminal of the winding of an electromagnet 108, whichpreferably has a slow action and the other terminal of which is groundedat 110, which electromagnet forms part of a latching relay 18.

The latching relay 18 has the two fixed spaced contact members 16, 44which are respectively connected to the windings of the shift andunshift key operating solenoids, and between these is a pivoted armwhich is connected to the source of power 26 and which has contacts 122,124 on its opposite faces which are respectively adjacent contacts 16and 44. A spring 126 constantly urges arm 120 in a direction to bringcontacts 44 and 124 into engagement and to maintain contacts 16 and 122out of engagement. Electromagnet 108 is positioned adjacent arm 120 and,when energized, is operative to move arm 120 against the force of spring126 to move contact 124 out of engagement with contact 44 and contact122 into engagement with contact 16.

The end of pivoted arm 120 protrudes beyond contact members 122, 124 andis in proximity to the end of one arm 128 of a lever which is pivoted at130 and the other arm 132 of which is engaged by a spring 134 whichconstantly urges the end of arm 128 toward and into engagement with theprotruding end of arm 120 when arm 120 is in its raised position inwhich contacts 44 and 124 are in engagement with each other. Arms 120and 128 are substantially at right angles to each other and when arm 120is moved by energization of electromagnet 108 the end of arm 123 snapsover the end of arm 120 and engages the upper surface thereof, thusholding the arm 120 in the position to which it is moved by theelectromagnet. A second electromagnet 136 which preferably has a slowaction, is provided adjacent arm 128 and, when energized, moves arm 128away from arm 120 thus releasing arm 120 and permitting it to be movedto its normal position by spring 126, in which position contacts 44 and124 are engaged. One terminal of the winding of electromagnet 136 isgrounded at 138 and the other terminal is connected through lead 140 tocontact 74 of the switch means controlled by the shift key operatingsolenoid. The latching relay is illustrated in Fig. 1 in position afteroperation of 7 Lite" shift key and in Fig; 3" after" operation of theunshift The operation of this system will now be described, it beingassumed that the parts are in the positions and conditions shown in Fig.1, it being noted that the shift and unshift key solenoids are in theiruppermost positions, which is the position they occupy at all timesexcept when being actually operated. In this condition contacts 70, 72are held in engagement with each other by lever arm 68, contacts 22, 24are held in engagement with each other by lever arm 90, and contacts 44,124 are held in engagement with each other by spring 126.

If an upper case character key, such as the A key, of the auxiliarykeyboard 2 is now operated, the arm 4 of the key will move first intoengagement with contact 8 which is connected to the shift key solenoidwinding 12, but as this winding is connected to the contact 16 which isnot'in engagementwith its associated contact 122, no circuit will becompleted and the tape perforating machine mechanism will continue toproduce perforations preceded by an upper case perforation. As the'arm 4of the key continues its movement it will engage contact and a circuitwill be completed from the grounded arm, through contact 10, the windingof solenoid 20 which operates the A letter key of the tape perforatingma- 2 chine, through closed contacts 22, 24, through closed contacts 70,72 and through leads 102, 104 to the source of energy 26, thusenergizing the solenoid winding 20 and operating the A key of thetape-perforating machine to produce a characteristic tape perforationwhich will, in turn and when the tape operates a type-setting machine,cause an upper case A to be set by reason of the fact that a shift keyperforation was the last shift or unshift key perforation to be made.

If a lower case character key, such as the a key, of the keyboard 2 isnow operated, the arm 4 of the key will first move into engagement withcontact 36, thus completing a circuit from the grounded arm 4, throughcontact 36, unshift key solenoid winding 40, and the closed contacts 44,124 to the source of energy 26, thus energizing the winding 40 andoperating the unshift key 42 which thereupon moves downwardly. Thedownward movement of the solenoid plunger causes the projection 82 onthe plunger to leave the projection 84 on lever 88, thereby immediatelyseparating contacts 22, 24 and disconnecting the character key operatingsolenoids 54, 34, 50, 20 from the source of power 26. At the end of thedownward stroke of the plunger 80 the projection 82 engages the ann 86on lever 83 and causes lever arm 90 to engage contact'94 and move itinto engagement with contact 92, thus energizing electromagnet 108 byconnecting it to the source 26 through lead 104, contacts 92, 94 andlead 106. Energization of electromagnet 108 pulls arm 120 downwardlyagainst the force of spring 126 and as this occurs the end lever arm 128is moved over the protruding end of arm 120 by the force of spring 134and rests on the upper surface of the end of arm 120, thus holding arm120 in its depressed position in which contacts 44, 124 are separatedand contacts 16, 122 are engaged. Separation of contacts 44, 124 opensthe circuit of the winding of unshift key operating solenoid 40 and theplunger 80 is returned to its uppermost position, which is shown inFig.1. Connection of contact members 16, 122 closes the connectionbetween the winding of the shift key solenoid 12 and the source of power26 to permit energization of this solenoid on depression of any uppercase key of the auxiliary keyboard 2. The return of the solenoid plunger80 to its uppermost position separates contacts 92, 94, thusdisconnecting the electromagnet 108 from the source of power, but thiswill not effect the downward position of arm 120 which is held in suchposition by arm 125. The return of the solenoid plunger 30 to itsuppermost position brings contacts 22, 24 into engagement, thusconnecting the character key operating solenoids to the source of powerk 26' through contacts 22*, 24,- lead 100,- contacts 70, 72'- andleads'102, 104 to permit energi'zation of any one of these solenoidsupon depression of any lower case character key of the auxiliarykeyboard.

If an upper case key of the auxiliary keyboard, such as the A key, isnow depressed a circuit will be completed from ground at '7, through thekey 4, contact 3, the winding of shift key operating solenoid 12,contacts 16, 122 and arm to the source of power 26, thereby energizingthe shift key operating solenoid and causing it to depress the shift keyto produce the characteristic shift tape erforation to cause subsequenttape perforations to set in upper case. Downward movement of the plunger13 of the shift key operating solenoid causes the lateral projection 60on the plunger to move away from projection 62 on lever 66, therebyimmediately opening contacts '70, 72 to disconnect the character keyoperating solenoids from the source of power 26. At the end of thedownward stroke of the plunger 13, the projection 60 engages theprojection 64 on lever 66 and the lever arm 68 moves contact 74 intoengagement with contact 76, thereby connecting electromagnet 136 to thesource of power 26 through lead 140, contacts 74, 76, and leads 102 and104. Energization of electromagnet 136 causes lever arm 128 to be movedtoward the electromagnet and out of engagement with the upper surface ofthe end of pivoted arm 120, thereby releasing the arm and permittingspring 126 to move it upwardly about its pivotal support to a positionin which contacts 44 and 12-4 are engaged. When these contacts areengaged the winding of the operating solenoid for the unshift key isconnected to the source of power 26 and may be energized upon depressionof any lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard 2. As statedhereinbefore, when the parts are in the last position described anyupper case character key of the auxiliary keyboard 2 will, on operationthereof, cause the energization of the operating solenoid for thecorresponding character key of the tape perforating machine without inany way affecting the shift key or its operating solenoid. Subsequentoperation of any lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard will cause theunshift key and the corresponding character key of the tape perforatingmachine to be operated in the manner described hereinbefore.

While we have described and illustrated one embodiment of our inventionit will be apparent to those skilled in the art that other embodimentsas well as modifications of that disclosed may be made and practicedwithout departing in any way from the spirit or scope of the inventionfor the limits of which reference must be had. to the appended claims.

What is claimed is:

1. An auxiliary keyboard for operating the keys of the keyboard of atape-perforating machine having a plurality of character keys eachproducing the same characteristic tape perforation for upper case andlower case, a shift key for producing a characteristic upper case tapeperforation and an unshift key for producing a characteristic lower casetape perforation, the auxiliary keyboard comprising a plurality of keyseach marked with an upper case or lower case character, a plurality ofsolenoids each having a plunger and each being arranged and positionedto be operatively associated with one of the character, shift andunshift keys of the tape-perforating machine to depress the associatedkey upon energization of the solenoid, a pair of contact membersassociated with each of the upper and lower case keys of the auxiliarykeyboard and being positioned to be successively engaged by theassociated key on depression thereof, an electric circuit including thefirst contact member of each pair associated with an upper case keyofthe auxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the shift keysolenoid, an electric circuit including thesecond contact member of eachpair associated with an upper case key of' the auxiliary keyboard andalso including the winding of the solenoid associated with thecorresponding character key of the tape-perforating machine keyboard, anelectric circuit including the first contact of each pair associatedwith a lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard and also including thewinding of the unshift key solenoid, an electric circuit including thesecond contact of each pair associated with a lower case key of theauxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the solenoidassociated with the corresponding character key of the tape-perforatingmachine keyboard, a source of power for said electric circuits, meansincluding said first contact members and the circuits therefor and beingoperable upon depression of an upper case or lower case key of theauxiliary keyboard after operation of a lower case or upper case key ofsaid auxiliary keyboard, respectively, to energize the shift or unshiftkey solenoid to cause the plunger thereof to move into engagement withand operate the shift or unshift key, means operated by the plunger ofthe operated shift or unshift key solenoid on movement thereof intoengagement with the shift or unshift key first to disconnect thecharacter key operating solenoids from the source of power and then atthe limit of its movement into engagement with the shift or unshift keyto disconnect the operating solenoid of the operated shift or unshiftkey from the source of power to cause said plunger to return to normalposition and release the operated shift or unshift key, and meansoperated by said plunger on return to its normal position afterde-energization of the operated shift or unshift key solenoid to connectthe character key operating solenoids to the source of power to permitenergization of the operating solenoid of the character keycorresponding to the depressed key of the auxiliary keyboard.

2. An auxiliary keyboard for operating the keys of the keyboard of atape-perforating machine having a plurality of character keys eachproducing the same characteristic tape perforation for upper case andlower case, a shift key for producing a characteristic upper case tapeperforation and an unshift key for producing a characteristic lower casetape perforation, the auxiliary keyboard comprising a plurality of keyseach marked with an upper case or lower case character, a plurality ofsolenoids each having a plunger and each being arranged and positionedto be operatively associated with one of the character, shift andunshift keys of the tapeperforating machine to depress the associatedkey upon energization of the solenoid, a pair of contact membersassociated with each of the upper and lower case keys of the auxiliarykeyboard and being positioned to be successively engaged by theassociated key on depression thereof, an electric circuit including thefirst contact member of each pair associated with an upper case key ofthe auxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the shift keysolenoid, an electric circuit including the second contact member ofeach pair associated with an upper case key of the auxiliary keyboardand also including the winding of the solenoid associated with thecorresponding character key of the tape-perforating machine keyboard, anelectric circuit including the first contact of each pair associatedwith a lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard and also including thewinding of the unshift key solenoid, an electric circuit including thesecond contact of each pair associated with a lower case key of theauxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the solenoidassociated with the corresponding character key of the tape-perforatingmachine keyboard, a source of power for said electric circuits, meansoperable after operation of any upper case key of the auxiliary keyboardto maintain the shift key operating solenoid disconnected from thesource of power and the unshift key operating solenoid connected to thesource of power, means operable after operation of any lower case key ofthe auxiliary keyboard to maintain the unshift key operating solenoiddisconnected from the source of power and the shift key operatingsolenoid connected 10 to the source of power, means including switchesassociated with each of the plungers of the shift and unshift keysolenoids and operable thereby upon energization of the associatedsolenoid to disconnect the character key solenoids from the source ofpower and being operable to reconnect the character key solenoids to thesource of power upon de-energization of the associated solenoid andreturn of the plunger thereof to its normal position, means includingother switches associated with each of the plungers of the shift andunshift key solenoids and operable thereby at the limit of movement ofthe associated plunger upon operation of its solenoid to energize one ofthe aforesaid means to maintain the operated shift or unshift keysolenoid disconnected from the source of power and the other connectedto the source of power.

3. An auxiliary keyboard for operating the keys of the keyboard of atape perforating machine having a plurality of character keys eachproducing the same characteristic tape perforation for upper case andlower case, a shift key for producing a characteristic upper case tapeperforation and an unshift key for producing a characteristic lower casetape perforation, the auxiliary keyboard comprising a plurality of keyseach marked with an upper case or lower case character, a plurality ofsolenoids each having a plunger and each being arranged and positionedto be operatively associated with one of the character, shift andunshift keys of the tape-perforating machine to depress the associatedkey upon energization of the solenoid, a pair of contact membersassociated with each of the upper and lower case keys of the auxiliarykeyboard and being positioned to be successively engaged by theassociated key on depression thereof, an electric circuit including thefirst contact member of each pair associated with an upper case key ofthe auxiliary keyboard .and also including the winding of the shift keysolenoid, an electric circuit including the second contact member ofeach pair associated with an upper case key of the auxiliary keyboardand also including the winding of the solenoid associated with thecorresponding character key of the tape-perforating machine keyboard, anelectric circuit including the first contact of each pair associatedwith a lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard and also including thewinding of the unshift key solenoid, an electric circuit including thesecond contact of each pair associated with a lower case key of theauxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the solenoidassociated with the corresponding character key of the tape-perforatingmachine keyboard, a source of power for said electric circuits, meansincluding each of said first contact members associated with the lowercase keys of the auxiliary keyboard and the circuits including saidkeys, and being operable upon depression of an lower case key of theauxiliary keyboard after operation of any upper case key of theauxiliary keyboard to energize the unshift key solenoid to cause theplunger thereof to move into engagement with and operate the unshiftkey, means associated with the plunger of the unshift key solenoid andoperated thereby and being operable by such movement of the unshift keysolenoid plunger first to disconnect the character key operatingsolenoids front the source of power and at the limit of operatingmovement of the plunger to disconnect the unshift key operating solenoidfrom the source of power to cause the same to return to normal positionand release the unshift key and operable on return of said plunger tonormal position by de-energization of its solenoid to re-connect thecharacter key operating solenoids to the source of power to permitenergization of the operating solenoid of the character keycorresponding to the depressed key of the auxiliary keyboard.

4. An auxiliary keyboard for operating the keys of the keyboard of atape-perforating machine having a plurality of character keys eachproducing the same characteristic tape perforation for upper case andlower case, a shift key for producing a characteristic upper case 11tape: perforation and an unshift key for'producing a characteristiclower case tape perforation, the auxiliary keyboard comprising aplurality of keys each marked with an upper case or lower casecharacter, a plurality of solenoids each having a plunger and each beingarranged and positioned to be operatively associated with one of thecharacter, shift and unshift keys of the tape-perforating machine todepress the associated key upon energization of the solenoid, a pair ofcontact members associated with each of the upper and lower case keys ofthe auxiliary keyboard and being positioned to be successively engagedby the associated key on depression thereof, an electric circuitincluding the first contact member of each pair of contact membersassociated with an upper case key key of the auxiliary keyboard and alsoincluding the winding of the shift key solenoid, an electric circuitincluding the second contact member of each pair associated with anupper case key of the auxiliary keyboard and also including the windingof the solenoid associated with the corresponding character key of thetape perforating machine keyboard, an electric circuit including thefirst contact member of each pair associated with a lower case key ofthe auxiliary keyboard and also including the winding of the unshift keysolenoid, an electric circuit including the second contact of each pairassociated with a lower case key of the auxiliary keyboard and alsoincluding the winding of the solenoid associated with the correspondingcharacter key of the tape-perforating machine keyboard, a source ofpower for said electric circuits, a first pair of spaced normally closedcontacts in the circuit of all of the character key operating solenoids,means operable by the plunger of the unshift key operating solenoid tomaintain said contacts closed when said solenoid is tie-energized and toopen said contacts upon energization of said solenoid, a second pair ofspaced normally closed contacts in the circuit of said source of powerand the unshift key operating solenoid, means operable upon energizationof the unshift key solenoid and iovement of the plunger thereof intoengagement with the unshift key to open said second pair of contacts tothereby tie-energize the unshift key solenoid, means to maintain saidsecond pair of contacts open, and means operable by energization of theshift key solenoid to release the means for maintaining said second pairof contacts open to thereby close the circuit of the unshift keysolenoid and the source of power to permit operation of the unshift keysolenoid on subsequent operation of a lower case key of the auxiliarykeyboard.

An auxiliary keyboard apparatus according to claim 4, in which the meansoperable by the plunger of the unshift key operating solenoid tomaintain the first pair of contacts closed comprises a lever mounted forpivotal movement adjacent the plunger of the unshift key solenoid andhaving .a pair of spaced arms and a third arm adjacent and positioned toengage an adjacent one of said contacts, and an arm on said plungerdisposed between the pair of spaced arms on said lever, the parts beingso positioned. and arranged that the plunger arm engages one of the pairof. spaced arms on the lever and the third lever arm engages saidadjacent contact and holds it in engagement with its associated contactat the limit of movement of the plunger when the unshift key solenoid isde-energized.

6. An auxiliary keyboard apparatus according to claim 4, in which themeans operable upon energization of the unshift key solenoid andmovement of the plunger thereof into engagement with the unshift key toopen said second pair of normally closed contacts comprises a pivotedarm on which one of the contacts of said second pair is mounted, anelectromagnet adjacent said pivoted arm and adapted when energized tomove said pivoted arm to move the contact carried thereby out ofengagement with the other contact of said second pair of contacts, athird pair of contacts in the circuit of said electromagnet and saidsource of power, and means operable upon. energization of the unshiftkey solenoid and movement of the plunger thereof into engagement withthe unshift key to close said third pair of contacts to thereby energizesaid electromagnet and move the pivoted arm to separate said normallyclosed contacts.

7. An auxiliary keyboard apparatus according to claim 4, in which themeans to maintain the second pair of contacts open comprises a firstpivoted arm on which one of said second pair of contacts is mounted, asecond pivoted arm mounted adjacent the first pivoted arm with the endparts of the two arms engaging each other, means constantly urging theend part of the second pivoted arm into engagement with the end of thefirst pivoted arm, the parts being so positioned and arranged that uponmovement of the first pivoted arm to move the contact mounted thereonaway from the other contact of the second pair of contacts the end ofthe second pivoted arm moves over the end part of the first pivoted armand holds it from returning to its normal position in which the contactsof the second pair are in engagement with. each other.

8. An auxiliary keyboard apparatus according to claim 7 comprising, inaddition, means for moving the second pivoted arm out of holdingengagement with the first pivoted arm upon energization of the shift keysolenoid to thereby release the means for maintaining the second pair ofcontacts open, said means comprising an electromagnet adjacent thesecond pivoted arm and being positioned and operable when energized tomove the second pivoted arm away from and out of engagement withthefirst pivoted arm, and means operable upon energization of the shift keysolenoid and movement of the plunger thereof into engagement with theshift key to energize said electromagnet.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS2,679,902 Brewer June 1, 1954

